New Chandigarh: It rarely happens. Gautam Gambhir She shed her game face. On Friday morning, the one-off Test against Afghanistan was no different. Initially, the Test, which is not even part of the World Test Championship cycle, is largely a bond-building exercise by the ‘big brothers’. BCCI So that Afghanistan cricket gets a chance to play Tests against the top team. For head coach Gambhir, though, this is a practice round to solidify the roadmap as he heads into the nine-month decider of the WTC cycle. After defending the T20 World Cup in his last assignment three months ago, it is a sobering reality for Gambhir to find his team sitting sixth in the WTC points table. Gambhir is angry when his team is called a side in change. In Manchester last year, he corrected the media and described the team as inexperienced rather than one. On Friday, he dodged a question about the transition and replied bluntly: “The real transition has been in England, it’s been nine Tests, so, it’s not a long phase. We lost two Tests against South Africa and it hurt. Consistency will be missing because these are young guys. After Gambhir took charge in 2024, India’s tailwinds were lifted at the tail end of the last WTC cycle. So, every move from here is aimed at reviving the team’s chances of qualifying for the nine remaining WTC Test matches. Thus, there is little relief for the regular Test players coming into the grueling IPL season. Gambhir chose to remind that Test cricket was taken very seriously even before the WTC started in 2019 and there is no reason why this Test should be treated any differently. After all, this is the first Test since the humiliating surrender against South Africa. Fourth spinner identity for SL Tour This match is an opportunity to poke some holes in the resource pool. With the aging Ravindra Jadeja rested here, the team management is looking for an additional spinner for the two-Test series on possibly changing pitches in Sri Lanka in August. The two new left-arm spinners Harsh Dubey and Manav Sathar are mainly on trial. “This is probably the only Test match where we can see someone who can be the fourth spinner. After that we will go to Sri Lanka and we may have to take four spinners there as well. So, it’s an ideal opportunity to try someone who can be a long-term fourth spinner as well,” Gambhir said, hinting that whoever plays on Saturday could be the fourth spinner after Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar. Prioritizing tests Team management under the leadership of the captain Shabman GulMarkey has been vocal about the short turnaround time before test assignments. Gayle has also demanded a 15-day window to prepare for the Test series. The team has got that window before the tour of Sri Lanka. But the two Tests in New Zealand are scheduled after a series of five T20Is and five ODIs. “We are very fortunate that we have enough time after the England tour before the Sri Lanka series. That is enough time to prepare for these two Tests. In New Zealand, there are only three days between the last ODI and the first Test. We have to bring out ODI players who are part of the Test squad,” Gambhir said. “We have realized that we need to start preparing better in red ball cricket and that was something that was lacking against the West Indies and South Africa as well. And that is something that we are going to do going forward.” Long rope for Sudharsan. Gambhir asserted that the team wants to give a long run to have a definite batting option at No.3. While there are question marks over Sudharsan’s performance, Gambhir hinted that the team could stick with him on the Devdutt pedestal. Gambhir said, “I have always believed that we give the players a fair run. Sai is not in bad form. He has scored 700 runs in the IPL. If we judge players in just four or five Tests, I think we will never make anything. Whenever Dev Dutt’s time comes, we will give him a good performance.”
